Has anyone else had TeamViewer blocked claiming commercial use?

Like most all Flex users, I have used TeamViewer to access a computer that is local to my remote radio. I use that computer for wsjt-x, logging, amplifier, tuner and antenna control. Twice now, TeamViewer has shut me down for supposed commercial use. This is a 100% amateur radio hobby application of TeamViewer. Has anyone else been shut down? How did you get it restarted (last time we called ... this time, that's not working)? Can someone recommend an alternative solution? I do need to do the occasional software install at the far end that requires a restart and reconnect, so any replacement needs to have that feature.

I also use TeamViewer exclusively for amateur radio. A few months ago I received a warning via e-mail. I replied explaining what I do and suggesting they offer a reasonably license price for non-commercial use. I have had no problems since then. Didn't you get warning?

I do often like them in Facebook as suggested when you close a session.

Yes I have but only on my iPad. I sent the required info to TeamViewer to make it clear I was not using it commercially months ago and have had no response. Using TeamViewer on my iPhone or PC is unaffected.

All I'm getting at my end is this notice: "You or someone you are connecting to is using TeamViewer for commercial purposes". I am connecting only to the remote computer that I mentioned. One other individual connects to that computer and they too are using it just for ham radio. I didn't open the account on the remote computer, my partner did. I will have him check whatever email account he used for that. Thank you!

I have had the same problem over the years. It seems that they flag you when you access a computer that is at a commercial address rather than a residence. I actually talked with someone at one point telling me that is what they go on and it doesn't matter if it not for commercial use or not. They are real sticklers about it. I don't know if they use the MAC address or what. You might consider ANYDESK as an alternative.

Hi Sam, I've been running TeamViewer (non-commercial) daily and luckily they have never shut me down yet! I access the home shack (Metrocast) while on travel and also from the work QTH daily (via Verizon). I don't leave it connected the entire day. I only connect when actually operating for maybe 2 hours at a time.

I only run Teamviewer to help family members with computer problems. They flagged me a month or so ago for suspected commercial use. I think they're getting more aggressive about trying to weed out the freeloaders from the ones they want to support with free use. I was able to send them a note and get reinstated for free service, but I have not tried using it for remoting my 6600 yet....

TightVNC is the solution I have been using on my remote for years. it does require either a static IP or dynamic dns, as well as opening up ports on your router or a vpn. Its completely free and will not be shut down on you.

Seems to be same story in Scandinavia. Been flagged when connecting from home. Have a server at our office while there are fiber 100/100Mbps. Not used for anything workrelated. But seems not matter. Commercial adress in one end .. end of story and use.

The account at the remote end was established by Chris VO1IDX. He called TeamViewer and they told him to submit a trouble ticket. I looked to see if I could submit something, but on the main TeamViewer site, it says that support tickets are accepted only from paying customers (license holders). Chris is out of pocket today, so I can't ask how he was able to submit a ticket (maybe email invite ... I don't know). I will ask him that when we are next in contact and report back here. Thanks for your interest and your input! Sam K3KLC / VO1CBL

It has not happened to me but I think if you write to them and send a copy of your licence with an explaination of your use it may help them understand. I suggest the bandwidth usage is monitored by a bot of some degree purely logical and unable to apply the human element.

That's pretty much the conclusion I've come to Bill. We have a trouble ticket in on it, but what if the next time they pull the plug, Chris was out of town? I'll look at Anydesk. Tell us, if you launch the Anydesk application on startup, can you easily get back into the remote computer after a restart? That's an important feature when you're making admin changes remotely. Thanks Sam K3KLC / VO1CBL

Sam, yes you can get back into Anydesk as long as you 'Set a password for unattended access...' Also make sure you configure the BIOS to restart the computer after a power outage. I really like Anydesk, it is easy to switch between my 3 displays.Jeff

Here is the link to the FORM that they want you to submit. I am at this stage so I do not know how long they take to investigate. Since it took them three weeks to respond to my initial email with a form email I think it will be a long time before they look into it based upon submitting the completed form.

OK Guys, someone can tell me how I previously updated the initial post. I would like to close it out without the most valuable information being at the bottom of the page, but I couldn't figure out how to do that.

TeamViewer (never again):

Both me and Chris, VO1IDX, have communicated with TeamViewer about this subject. Here is their very latest response (and last, as far as I am concerned):

Hello,

Thank you for contacting TeamViewer.

The personal version is only meant to be used FROM a home network and TO a home network (having nothing to do with servers).

Anything outside of a home to home network is considered commercial use (work wifi, coffee shop wifi, library wifi, university wifi, etc.)

We reviewed your log files and found connections either to or from commercial environments. Using TeamViewer in this manner requires a license.

We have several licensing options available to meet your needs. If you would like a personalized quote, please provide the following information.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us back.

Best Regards,

Maricela GonzalezSupport EngineerSecurity Specialist

My Comments:

It appears that if you are using your smartphone and you decide to use coffee shop, or maybe even hotel bandwidth, in preference to your 4G account, you have just violated TeamViewer's rules.

I must add that we got a previous email that wanted a signed statement re what we were doing, but by the time it arrived, we had solved the problem by moving on to VNC Connect (server) and the VNC Viewer. It's easy to get started, easy to use and so far it works just fine (I recently did my first remote computer restart and it was better that the TeamViewer experience)

VNC allows each registered used up to five computers for free. I have yet to see any limitations similar to those described above. Should we need to start paying, VNC is far cheaper than TeamViewer. Because we normally move radio audio via SSDR, I haven't tried to bring computer audio over the VNC connection yet. It always came over when using TeamViewer, but I seem to remember that it's not all that hard to set up in VNC ... we just haven't bothered.

Resolving this at it's root:

I suggest that the Flex 10,000 series include an onboard computer and that computer video be optional in the SSDR connection (I use CAT interfaced logging on the remote computer ... so I'd use that computer even when operating SSB). The "local to the radio" computer problem would be solved in one box (very doable in 2018)! FT8 and other modulation schemes that will demand co-location of the computer and the radio are here to stay. We are all doing some kind of a workaround; it would be nice if a one box solution were available (Heck, it would be nice if we had a dedicated ham radio remote desktop solution). Elsewhere in the 10,000, I'd like to see Flex license the RemoteRig CW keying function; the last feature that would make the Flex 10,000 a "SuperRadio".

This is the last word ... unless we discover something else that's worth relating.

Yes, this happened to me when I used my iPad from work. The bloc only affected my iPad and not Teamviewer on my iPhone or PC. There is a link in the community under this topic to allow you to fill out a form and attach some detail which I sent in to Teamviewer. I never received a response from them (it was months ago), but lo and behold they removed the bloc last week and it all works again. I know this has happened to others and if you send them a declaration you are not using Teamviewer for commercial purposes they eventually get around to unblocking your access.

Teamviewer are pretty tough folks to deal with. If they detect that you are at or connecting to a computer that is at a commercial address they will eventually flag you. It doesn't matter to them if it's non commercial use; what matters is the address the computer is at. They are very rigid about it. You might want to consider trying Anydesk which works pretty much the same way.

We are using AnyDesk as a backup to VNC Connect. Both launch on start-up in the remote computer. I had a problem with AnyDesk where I couldn't get it out of full screen without shutting it down. That is how it earned its position as "backup".

I have been using built in remote desktop with VPN (PC to PC) as well as LogMeIn for some instances, which I would NOT recommend any longer. They have raised the price to several hundred dollars per year ($840 to be exact, not a misprint) for a 5 pack license which I had for years. They also now bundle a lot of the other services nobody wanted to buy (such as a dropbox like service and a bunch of other crap) to justify the cost and they will not sell just RDP anymore. I called them to cancel and they gave me 50% off which buys me time to research alternatives and maybe rethink how I use it. I already turned off the auto-renewal and looking at other options. I also used it to remote administer servers so the free options would not work for me, but there is a line between paying for something and extortion. Just my two cents on what NOT to get anymore. Too bad, used to be a great company!